God used 2012 to teach me to accept the unknown and trust in His perfect plan. I was able to go confidently into 2013 accepting the idea that I didn't know much about what would happen. I knew that we would eventually move. I knew that Skye would be born. But other than that, I had no idea where we would move, when we move and what our lives would look like by the end of the year.Our first few months started with several, unexpected financial problems -- all totally out of our control. God used this to show us His provision and it all worked out eventually. I also spent most of the first half of my year away from my husband while he was deployed to various places. God used sickness, loneliness and exhaustion to show me sufficiency in grace...how His strength is made perfectness in my weakness. I also spent one of the hardest days of my life in labor. My heart grew bigger when I met Skye for the very first time. We spent the summer traveling across the country. I had the opportunity to spend time with family, friends and see such diversity in God's creation. We lived in our fifth wheel for several months. It was there that I learned to be content in simple living. We also faced many stresses that left me crying out to God and teaching me to trust Him even when He felt distant. We bought a new house and here I am in Georgia, following God's calling to pursue Deeply Rooted Magazine. He has poured His blessing out on us in many material ways and has taught me what it means to walk by faith through this magazine. God continues to show His faithfulness. He has been emphasizing to me how important it is to really root myself in His Word. He has used this year to shift my perspective and help me view life in light of eternity, rather than the present.
JANUARY: We used our fifth wheel for the first time at our crabbing trip in Bodega Bay, California.
FEBRUARY: More camping trips soon followed in between the weekends that Ethan was home.
MARCH: Kaiden and I made our own adventures while Daddy was gone. I made the most of my time with Kaiden knowing that we would soon have Skye.
APRIL: My belly kept a growing.
We tried to frequent our favorite beach as much as possible.
MAY: We spent our last moments as "parents of one" going on walks and attempting date nights.
I finished Skye's nursery.
JUNE: This beauty was born.
And Kaiden met her for the first time.
And we became a family of four.
I attempted gardening...and was only successful with carrots. They were the best carrots I've ever had (but I may be a bit biased.)
JULY: We packed our bags and said goodbye to California.
AUGUST: We melted in our fifth wheel as we experienced the life in Moabi Regional Park for a few days.
This was one of our favorites spots on the road trip.
We visited the Grand Canyon. It was one of the most gorgeous sites I've ever laid eyes upon.
We spent time in New Mexico.
And stayed with family in Oklahoma.
...so many memories were made.
SEPTEMBER: We lived in our fifth wheel for a good bit and made the most of it.
OCTOBER: She was happy to move out of our fifth wheel.
We went trick-or-treating...and got many looks in the process. :)
I took a step of faith and never expected so many awesome people to believe in my vision and help me out with this sample issue of Deeply Rooted.
NOVEMBER: We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in the South.
And my brothers, sisters and parents came to visit!
She just keeps growing up.
DECEMBER: I've been enjoying all the space in our new home and so has this little guy.
We spent our Christmas with Ethan's side of the family who came to visit us!I'm sure I missed a bunch of pictures. We are out of town at the moment and so I've just gathered what I could from my laptop. It's been a great year and I'm grateful for all of you who have followed along with through this blog. I'm excited that I can go into 2014 with that same confidence, not knowing what lies ahead but trusting that God will continue to use both the up and down moments to draw us closer to Him.